Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine | Ramona Kitto Stately’s Gift for Changing Native Narratives

Today, a conversation with Ramona Kitto Stately (Santee Sioux Dakota Nation,) a beadwork artist, teacher, and leader in K-12 Indian Education in Minnesota, who is now Project Director for the We Are Still Here – Minnesota (WASH-MN), a network of people and organizations committed to the Reclaiming Native Truth research and its findings. Ramona tells us how her teaching career began, and how some bad experiences prompted her to go back to school to get her master’s degree in Education, so she could more effectively disrupt the status quo. Ramona Kitto Stately makes the case that Indian Education should be mandatory for all students: when Native history and culture are missing from K-12 curriculum, students are deprived of accurate narratives, and stereotypes continue to thrive. This leads to ill-informed citizens, including leaders, judges, and policymakers. Miigwech to Ramona Kitto Stately for this rich and informative discussion!

Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/

What is Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine?

In Native Lights, people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce - a.k.a. Minnesota - tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community. These are stories of joy, strength, history, and change from Native people who are shaping the future and honoring those who came before them.

Native Lights is also a weekly, half-hour radio program hosted by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. Native Lights is a space for people in Native communities.